I think mine has died, heaters will work on and off depending how it feels.

Sometimes steam is vented from the bonnet and my windows always need demisting.

Has a strange smell aswell inside the car sometimes, normally when the heaters are actually working, a smell of a buggered heater matrix i think.



Does all of that sound like mine has gone?

 

Similar symptoms I had when my matrix started leaking way back in 2008.

I didn't have steam venting from the bonnet though, just inside the car onto the front screen accompanied by a smell of hot antifreeze.

Hopefully you will be lucky and it will just be a hose somewhere as the matrix replacement is a dash out job.

 

hi, if your getting steam from engine bay could be a leak in the engine bay, so when you do put the fans on inside the car its drawing in moist air from the engine bay (the steam) if you can, next time the engine bay starts to steam pull over safely lol open the bonnet and try and see where the steams coming from.

From your symptoms i would guess coolant cap maybe, I had a similar problem with my other car and it was the cap where it clamps to the neck was slightly bent (the 2 bits thats on the cap) so i bent them in a bit just to make the seal tighter and was good as gold, but when it started to steam obviously i was losing coolant, but when it cooled down it was sucking in air and eventually i got an air lock and the heaters worked on and off once cap was tighten and system bleed it was fine,

Other possibility maybe a split hose somewhere might give same symptoms but heaters blowing hot then cold is definitely airlock and i would have said leaky matrix until i read the bit about steam coming from the engine bay.

let me know how you get on

 

When my Heater Matrix went I had coolant appearing in the passenger foot well.

it was a bugger to change, dash out, etc.

 

Thanks for the replues guys

Dam sounds like a right job to do, i'll find the source of the steam and report back..... hopefully its just a busted hose.

 

done the job on a mates, it is an *** of a job but take your time and all will be well. make sure you get a known good matrix as doing it twice would be enough to make you suicidal!!

 

lol haha, thanks widdows. Yea I've got a matrix in mind if thats what it needs.

 

we just had one in at work the cold temp at night and the ice frost has freezed the wter in the matrix over night and expanded,cause of the problem was the guy never had antifreeze.he was lucky,just saying to all you guys make sure you top up the antifreeze as it was -11 here

 

Mine does have antifreeze (thank god!!) in and i think this problem has been looming for a while, just really starting to notice it now.